SB 949

Bill Subjects

Abstract

The California Emergency Services Act requires the Governor to coordinate the State Emergency Plan and any programs necessary for the mitigation of the effects of an emergency in this state, as specified. The act also establishes, within the office of the Governor, the Office of Emergency Services and requires it to perform various duties with respect to specified emergency preparedness, mitigation, and response activities in the state. This bill would authorize the Governor to require owners and operators of critical infrastructure to submit critical infrastructure information, as those terms are defined, to the Office of Emergency Services, or any other designee, for the purposes of gathering, analyzing, communicating, or disclosing critical infrastructure information, as provided. The California Public Records Act requires state and local agencies to make their records available for public inspection, unless an exemption from disclosure applies. The act exempts from these disclosure requirements, among other documents, critical infrastructure information, as defined, that is voluntarily submitted to the Office of Emergency Services for use by that office. This bill would provide that critical infrastructure information obtained pursuant to its provisions would be confidential and not subject to disclosure under the California Public Records Act, subpoena, or discovery, or admissible as evidence in any private civil action. Existing constitutional provisions require that a statute that limits the right of access to the meetings of public bodies or the writings of public officials and agencies be adopted with findings demonstrating the interest protected by the limitation and the need for protecting that interest. This bill would make legislative findings to that effect.